Tim Duncan was a two-time ACC Player of the Year with the Wake Forest Demon Deacons and had extensive international experience playing with the USA Basketball team. He didn't begin playing organized basketball until the ninth grade.

Tim was an All-American at Wake Forest University. The psychology major (with honors) was winner of the 1997 John Wooden Award, awarded to the NCAA's overall best male player based on the votes of sportscasters and newswriters. In that season, Duncan averaged 20.8 points per game and led the nation with 14.7 rebounds per game.

Duncan finished his college career as the second best shot blocker in NCAA history, and he is one of only 10 players with more than 2,000 career points and 1,500 career rebounds. Duncan was also the first player in NCAA history to reach 1,500 points, 1,000 rebounds, 400 blocked shots and 200 assists